More SEO Tips

Center Stage Web Designs are exclusively designed to help the small business owner to succeed using:

• Proper Website Design
• Quality Web Hosting
• Search Engine Optimization
• Search Engine Marketing

Given the scope of our services, here are some General Principles that every small business owner should consider when developing an Internet business strategy.

• Ensure that the company name you have selected does not infringe on the corporate identity of an existing company.
• Check for trademark conflicts with your name both nationally and within your state.
• Ensure that your domain name - your company name - is available and not already in use by an existing company of the same name.
• Design your Logo around your company vision.
• Unless you are the only one using your website, do not build the website for you. Forget "Bells and Whistles" and Instead, build your site first and foremost for your visitors; account for load times, aesthetics, ease of navigation and the overall quality of the prospects experience.
• When building your website, ensure that the web design firm you use understands the importance of clean code for usability by your visitors.
• Ensure that your website design layout and navigation is user- and search engine-friendly.
• Your website is not just a business card! Your design should always include a "Call To Action"!
• Ensure that your company website uses effective, unique and relevant Titles for each page of your website.
• Use proper descriptions that accurately and uniquely describe the content of each page of your website.
• Properly use accurate and unique Meta Tags for each page of your website.
• Use alt tags within your code that accurately describe the image.
• Write effective content for your Visitors that is unique and expressed in your own words. Do not use hidden text or "Grayed Out Hard To Read" information in any manner. If it's not worth making easy to read, it's not worth having on your web page.
• Do File for Copyright Protection for your content, images and website code.
• Never use a Flash Animation "Splash Page". You will lose 45 to 75% of your hard-earned prospects before they even get to your content.
• If you are planning to market your website on the Internet, never build a website using only Flash Animation.
• Avoid building internal and external links within images. Instead, focus on traditional static links using a clear navigational hierarchy.
• When linking out to other sites, ensure that the sites you are linking to offer legitimate value to your visitors and that the links out are relevant to the topic of the page from which you are linking. Linking out from your website is a Good Thing!
• Do not build Doorway Pages to "scam" search engines. Instead, think of each page of your website as a Doorway into your Business. Ensure that every page of your site is relevant to the searchers' needs, offers value and meets the suggested tips located on this page and within the search engine's own website guidelines.
• Pop-ups create a poor experience for your visitors. Whenever possible, avoid their use entirely.
• Always monitor your website for broken links and links to bad neighbors.
• Keep the number of links on a given page to a reasonable level. Search engines recommend no more than 100. However, if thinking from a visitors perspective, a more reasonable number would be 30 - and not more than 50 including navigation.
• Never use cloaking or other such methods to deceive the search engines.